Pennsylvania Hospital, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and Chester County Hospital have received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Associationís Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award. According to a news release, the award recognizes these Penn Medicine hospitalsí commitment and success in implementing a higher standard of stroke care by ensuring that stroke patients receive treatment according to nationally accepted standards and recommendations.

To receive the Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award, these three Penn Medicine hospitals achieved at least 12 consecutive months of 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Achievement indicators and achieved at least 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Measures during that same period of time, which are reporting initiatives to measure quality of care. The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania received the Guidelines-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award in October 2013, for achieving 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month intervals and 75 percent or higher compliance with six of 10 Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality Measures.

These measures include aggressive use of medications, such as antithrombotics, anticoagulation therapy, DVT prophylaxis, cholesterol reducing drugs and smoking cessation, all aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke patients.

ďWith a stroke, time lost is brain lost, and the Get With The Guidelines - Stroke Silver Plus Quality Achievement Award demonstrates that our staff is committed to providing care that has been shown in the scientific literature to quickly and efficiently treat stroke patients with evidence-based protocols,Ē Sandra Garrison, RN, MBA, BSN, director of cardiovascular disease management at Chester County Hospital, said in the release.